New Mac OS X Snow Leopard Disc Art — First thing we noticed after getting our hands on the latest Snow Leopard build 10a432? The new OS X install icon, which is usually indicative of how the disc is going to look. Goodbye purple galaxy goodness, hello big, snowy animal.

Sony Plans to Adopt Common Format for E-Books — Paper books may be low tech, but no one will tell you how and where you can read them. — For many people, the problem with electronic books is that they come loaded with just those kinds of restrictions. Digital books bought today from Amazon.com …

A flurry of features for feed readers — Since our last big launch, we've been thinking about ways to help our users better share, discover, and consume content in Reader. Today, I'm happy to announce several new features that we hope will further improve the way you use Reader. — Send to...

FYI: The Pre Reports Your Location to Palm — Joey Hess has taken a closer look at the code inside webOS that reports information back to Palm and found some details on what the Pre is sending back to headquarters. Specifically, it appears that the Pre uploads (at least) the following information to Palm on a daily basis:

Social Mobile Games Are Hot. $3 Million Hot — Seattle-based Z2Live, a new mobile social gaming platform, is announcing a second round of financing tomorrow - $3 million from Madrona Venture Group (also Seattle based), topping off the $1 million they raised from Madrona last year.

Zune HD packs a big processing punch — Microsoft's Zune HD will use one of the most powerful chips to go into a portable media player yet: Nvidia's multicore Tegra processor. — Tegra packs two processor cores based on intellectual property from U.K.-based chip designer ARM.

Zune HD lands September 15th, up for pre-order today — Do you want a Zune HD real bad? Well you're in luck, because the wait is nearly over. Microsoft announced today that the heavily hyped media player will be making its way into retail channels come September 15th …

I scream, you scream, we all scream for iGoogle social! — We launched iGoogle in 2005 as a way for people to quickly and easily personalize their Google experience with all the information on the web that was most useful to them. Now tens of millions of people choose to use their iGoogle homepage …

Google Temporarily Pulling Caffeine Sandbox — If you're still trying to compare Google results with the new “Caffeine” sandbox, be prepared to wait while Google makes some datacenter upgrades. — Matt Cutts just posted the news on Twitter that the sandbox is being taken down …

WordPress issues new version, closes password flaw — WordPress, the popular blogging software platform, has been updated to fix a flaw that could have enabled a hacker to change an administrator password. — The bug enables a specially crafted URL to evade a password reset security verification check …

Fewer workers, bigger paychecks in high tech — Silicon Valley is supporting fewer jobs but issuing fatter paychecks, according to a federal report that says high-tech payrolls have shrunk about 17 percent since 2001, while the average tech wage has risen nearly 36 percent.

Taking Software For Older Drivers On a Quick Spin — If your driving is getting a bit worse as you grow older, it may be because of a natural decline in the brain's ability to process visual information. — Some scientists believe that, as people age, their capability to rapidly grasp and act on what their eyes see can degrade.

Samsung unveils cameras with two screens — Last week, we reported on Samsung's Tap and Take campaign, which function was unveiled today in the form of two new point-and-shoots with dual LCDs. The Korean company has also announced a compact shooter which sports a truckload of popular wireless connectivity options.

Start-up helps teachers learn their lesson — What do you get when you cross teachers, tech, and social networking? A BetterLesson. — Although not the first or the only Web site that hooks teachers up with friends and new curriculum, BetterLesson takes a different approach.

Dell: Linux v Windows netbook returns a ‘non-issue’ — Demand (not technology) in question — Free whitepaper - The security implications of Web 2.0 — OpenSource World Dell has delivered a dose of reality for both Microsoft and the Linux community on the subject of netbooks.

While My Guitar Gently Beeps — GAME MAN Alex Rigopulos, a founder and the C.E.O. of Harmonix Music Systems. Big eyes (reflected from a photo in his Boston office) were watching. More Photos > — GILES MARTIN WAS conjuring spirits, or perhaps summoning gods.

Windows 7 review — Oh, Windows. You inform and entertain us. You are inescapable, and your Start menu is full of items relevant to our productivity. You move us. Sort of. To be honest, we're not sure what sort of state this fair planet of ours would be in without …

Justin.tv Placates Copyright Holders With Anti-piracy Tech — Justin.tv began rolling out beefed up anti-piracy protections this week, as the live-streaming site looks to play nice with copyright owners and build a business that isn't a lawsuit magnet. — The company told us via email today …

Elite 360 Dropping In Price, RIP Pro Model — Looks like we have an execution date for the Xbox 360 Pro model, with this shot from a Meijer catalogue due on August 30 indicating the 360 Elite is in line for a Pro-sized price cut. — You'll remember, of course, that the origins of this rumour …